In the Space of a Lifetime

Part 12:

In Oz's Van

"Look!"

Sonya leaned forward and pointed, blocking Oz's view of the road. Sheila swerved a little, and Sonya sank back into her seat, but she kept pointing. "It's Buffy."

Oz looked over as well and saw Buffy running down the sidewalk, her blonde hair streaming after her. He revved Shelia, made a quick U- turn, and pulled alongside her.

"Buffy!" Sonya had rolled down her window. "Stop!"

"Just leave me alone," Buffy yelled.

Oz let Sheila coast along next to Buffy. It was the only way to compete with Slayer speed.

"You have to come back with us," Sonya told Buffy through the window. "Jenny found a way to send you home."

Buffy stopped running, and Oz hit the brakes. When he looked at the Slayer head on, he could tell that she had been crying. He decided not to mention it. This Buffy was touchy.

"There's a way to send me back?" Buffy demanded.

"Yes," Sonya replied.

"Get in," Oz suggested. "We'll take you to them."

Without another word, Buffy got in the back of the van and sat down.

The ride back to Aidan's house seemed long because no one spoke. Oz and Sonya took turns glancing back at Buffy, but she never moved. She just sat there, staring out the window.

When they got to Aidan's, Sonya said, "They're probably still in the study. It opens up from the entry hall on your right. You can go on in. Tell them that Oz and I went to finish patrol for you. How far had you gotten?"

"Holy Oaks Cemetary," Buffy replied. Then she got out of the van and strode toward the house with a purposeful step.

Oz and Sonya watched until Buffy was inside the house, and then he began to drive back toward the cemetary district.

"We're finishing patrol, huh?" He glanced over at his girlfriend.

She smiled at him. "It sounds like she was almost done. I figured, after, we could have a little private time. It's not like they need us for spell stuff."

Oz had an answering smile on his lips as he replied, "Private time is good."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Streets of Sunnydale

Xander always had to work hard to keep up with Buffy. He had a foot on her in height and a lot of that could be found in leg-length, but she had the whole super-speed thing going for her.

He liked to watch her when she didn't know he was looking. Times like now. He loved the way her forehead crinkled when she concentrated, and that just-try-it-sucker look in her eyes. Even so, though, he could tell that this wasn't his Buffy. There was just something a little different about the way she approached things and the way she moved. Xander couldn't put it into words, but he could sense it. He could see it, too, in the way she moved, in the way she tossed her hair, in her smile, in the depths of her eyes...

When they rounded a corner, Xander nodded toward a row of hedges. "That's a hot spot. Cemetary on the other side."

Buffy nodded once in reply and stopped. Xander stopped, too, wondering what she was about to do. She put a finger to her lips, and they both listened. Something scuffled. It could have been leaves dancing in the nighttime breeze, or a stray cat. Xander felt Buffy tense next to him. Then she sprang. She went up and over the hedges. He heard the thump of her boot heels when she landed on the other side. Then he heard something else. A thump of something falling and a snarl.

Xander pulled out his cross and his stake and ran to the end of the hedges and around the corner, wishing he could get over them like Buffy had. When he got into the cemetary, he saw Buffy duking it out with a slim, dark-haired vampire chick. With her game face on, she reminded Xander a little of Drusilla, but he could tell it wasn't her.

Without needing to be told, Xander crept over to the body the vamp had left abandoned on the ground. He leaned over the body and gently touched its neck. No pulse. It had been a guy. He was a little older than Xander, with blond hair. From his slacks and his burgundy shirt, the guy had had a fashion sense that would have pleased the finicky Cordelia Chase.

Xander sighed. This was the bad part -- the not-getting-there-in-time part. He reached down and closed the guy's dead, staring eyes.

"Sorry, buddy," Xander muttered.

He looked up to check on Buffy. The vamp chick was giving her a good fight, but Xander's practised eye told him the Slayer would win in the end. Buffy hadn't even worked up a sweat, but the vampire looked to be a little desperate.

Xander glanced back down at the body. It was staring up at him.

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "Hey, didn't I..." That was when he realized that the body wasn't dead anymore. Now it was undead. The vamp must've been alone with this guy longer than Xander had first thought. This was a shady corner. They could have been here for hours.

"Hey," Xander said, putting on a smile as the guy's face morphed to show his new demon side. "Look at that. You're alive. Kinda."

Xander started to scoot away, wishing that he'd had some of that hand- to-hand combat training Buffy had been talking about. Sure, he could swing a punch, but he'd never had any formal training... except in his imaginary boot camp last Halloween.

The guy snarled and sprang. Xander dodged, and the vamp went sprawling. Xander held out his cross. "Stay back."

The new vampire was too hungry to fear crosses. It endured the pain and swatted the cross out of Xander's grasp. Then it lunged again. The vampire grabbed Xander and gave him several hard blows to the face. Xander saw a couple of stars, but forced himself out of it. Using the vampire's strength against him, Xander braced himself on the vampire's arms, jumped up, and kicked straight into the thing's stomach. It let him go. Xander scrambled to his feet.

Xander swung more quickly this time, and his fist connected with the vampire. Since Xander didn't have super strength, he knew he had to finish the fight quick. The longer he had to fight, the better the odds that the vampire would overpower him.

He followed up his first punch with a second and then a third. The vampire staggered a little and growled and charged.

Squinting, Xander held out the stake, aimed for the heart, and then let the vampire run right into it.

As the dust swirled around him, Xander shook his head. "Newbie."

"Good job, Xander!"

He turned to see Buffy grinning at him, her vamp now nothing more than ash in the wind. "Hey, I try."

"You have good instincts," Buffy praised him. "You knew just how to trick the new one. They're so young and stupid when they first wake up. Not too mention too hungry to think straight."

"I was pretty scared," Xander admitted.

Buffy shrugged. "They're vampires. We all have reason to be scared. But you did good, Xander. I knew you had it in you. Maybe tomorrow I could help you start some training exercises to maximize that potential."

Xander felt his trademark grin return. "That would be great, Buffy. Thanks."

She blushed and looked away. "No problem."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Docks

Angel had finished the patrol and stopped by all of Faith's favorite vampire-bashing locations, but he hadn't been able to find her. A carefully worded phone call to Aidan had revealed that she wasn't at home. Angel was pretty much out of places to look, until he remembered where his relationship with Faith had begun.

The seedy, water-front bar was just like he remembered. Ratty, run- down, and full of hard-drinking sailors. Almost a cliche, really, but no one in the place cared about that.

Angel walked inside and began scanning the room.

"Yo, mister!"

Angel looked over at the bar tender. "Yeah?"

"You gotta order somethin' ta be in here. This ain't no peep show."

Angel rolled his eyes, but he tossed the man a five dollar bill.

"Whaddya want?" the bartender asked, pocketing the fiver.

"I don't care," Angel replied. Then he added, "Just not tequila."

A few minutes later, armed with a shot of whiskey, Angel began to wander through the dim room. He'd hoped Faith would be at the bar. She liked to be the center of attention. But she hadn't been there. The bar wasn't that crowded. Angel didn't have a problem scanning the main room. No Faith. Lots of guys and their ladies, but not the lady he was looking for.

He was just about to give up when he heard raccous laughter coming from the back of the bar. Angel peered into a cramped hallway that he'd thought led to the bathrooms. Instead, it went on several feet and then opened into another room. The room held several green-felt- covered pool tables, some dart boards, and another bar. Angel lurked just inside the doorway, scanning the room. For obvious reasons, this room was more crowded than the first.

Another loud burst of laughter caused Angel to look toward one of the pool tables just in time to see Faith take a pool cue from a man with a black beard and wiggle her bottom seductivly as she made her shot. The bearded guy made no pretense about staring at her ass. Angel felt himself start to growl. He had to forcibly stop himself from changing. He paused for a minute, trying to calm down. By the time he had himself under control, Faith's shot was good -- the eight ball rolled quietly into its designated corner.

Her opponent, a burly man in blue plaid, glared at her, while the rest of the crowd cheered.

"Good goin', girlie. You showed him," an enthusiastic man yelled, sneering at the loser.

Faith took a pile of bills from the corner of the table and earned more cat calls as she stuffed it down her black-leather bustier.

"Thanks, bud," Faith told Blue Plaid. "It's been a real thrill."

"Congrats, babe," the bearded guy said, sliding a hand around Faith's tiny waist. "Tiny was the champeen 'round here." He leaned in to kiss her.

Angel froze, staring. Faith grabbed a handful of the man's greasy hair and kissed him back.

He couldn't take it any longer. Angel threw his drink down on the floor. Glass shattered. Angel stalked over to the couple, grabbed the guy's shirt collar and ripped them apart.

The bearded guy didn't say anything. He just threw a punch. Angel blocked it, and punched him back, sending the guy flying across the room. Bystanders who'd been contemplating taking on the pretty boy, backed off.

Angel turned to Faith. "What the hell are you doing?"

Faith glared right back at Angel. "Trying to hook up! Apparently, you *still* don't know the meaning of casual sex." She turned around and began to walk away, tossing a few words over her shoulder at him. "Why don't you find some other chick to stalk?"

Before he knew what he was doing, Angel had gone after her, picked her up, and thrown her over his shoulder. Faith kicked, but she couldn't get free when he held her with all of his strength. Some of the guys whistled.

"Careful, guy! She's a fiesty one," someone yelled.

"Don't I know it," Angel replied. As they walked passed the guy Angel had punched, Angel dropped a few twenties on his chest, enough to cover a doctor's appointment, or whatever. Then he carried Faith out of the bar and into the night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aidan's House

"You found a way to send me back?"

Everyone in the study looked up in surprise to see Buffy standing in the doorway, arms folded across her chest.

"Buffy," Jenny said with a breathless laugh. "You scared me."

Buffy slanted a look at the computer teacher. "Sorry." The tone of her voice indicated that she wasn't sorry at all.

Aidan frowned. "Buffy..."

"No, Aidan," Jenny replied, "it's all right. I'm sure we'd all be testy if we found ourselves in a strange dimension."

Buffy chuckled dryly. "Yeah, that's it, Ms. Calendar. Go with that." Before anyone could give her a lecture in etiquette, Buffy said, "So, like I said, you've found a way to send me back? Let's do it. Now."

"It's not quite that easy, Buffy," Aidan replied. "There are risks..."

"I don't care." Buffy sat down in one of Aidan's leather-covered wing chairs and crossed her legs. "I'm going home."

Amy and Rio, who had been helping prepare the ingredients, watched the proceedings silently. Amy looked close to tears again as she watched the new Buffy. Rio slid an arm around her shoulders for support, and she smiled at him gratefully.

"Basically," Jenny said, "we're going to do an astral projection spell. It should force your soul out of this body and back through the dimensions to your own body. However, we can't be sure what will happen. In case something doesn't work, or you can't get into your own body when you find it, we will anchor you to this body, as well. There are risks, though. The anchoring spell could be too weak to pull you back through dimensional boundaries, you could be trapped too long outside a body, something that would eventually cause your soul to fade out of this existance... a whole host of things could theoretically go wrong." Jenny paused. "But, I don't think they will. We have planned this out carefully."

"Are there any other options?" Buffy asked.

Jenny and Aidan exchanged a glance.

"No," Aidan replied. "This is all we've been able to come up with."

Buffy stared Aidan down. "Then we're doing it."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A Playground

"So, this place is a hot spot in your world, too?" Buffy asked Xander as they checked a small, neighborhood park for vampires. It wasn't the same park where they'd swung earlier that afternoon, but Buffy remembered helping Angel with a vampire that had tried to eat some kids making out on the merry-go-round at this park in her own dimension.

"Yup," Xander answered. "Kids playing here after dark. Very bad."

Buffy twitched some low-hanging brush up and peered beneath it.

Xander frowned curiously. "You think a vamp might be hiding under there?"

"You guys don't have ferals here, I guess." Buffy let the brush drop and straightened up. "At home, we've been fighting these feral vampires for a while now. If a vampire doesn't feed soon enough after it wakes up the first time, it goes feral. It's pretty much like a rabid dog or something. It tends to move on all-fours a lot of the time, and it will always be ridgy and ugly. They're pretty indescriminent about who and what they kill."

"Like normal vampires are the most discriminating," Xander threw in, rolling his eyes.

"Right," Buffy agreed, "but at least they try not to make a big scene about it most of the time. It depends on the vamp, of course. But ferals... well, they'll charge into the middle of Jack In The Box if they're hungry enough. And, when they aren't hungry, they like to hide in small, dark places."

"How often does a vampire become feral?" Xander asked.

"Not often," Buffy replied. "Except, this queen vampire back home... she's breeding them."

"A vampire is purposefully making new vampires and then not feeding them so they can be her pets?" Xander asked.

"Yep." Buffy nodded. "Sick, isn't it?"

"Vampires just keep sinking to new lows." Xander shook his head.

"Well," Buffy said as they finished walking around the park. "I guess we're about done."

"We haven't gone by the Bronze yet," Xander told her. "I saved it for last, since it's the only part of patrol that has a live music and dancing factor."

"Oh yeah!" A little excitement entered Buffy's voice. "I'd forgotten about the Bronze."

"How could you forget about the Bronze?" Xander asked. "It's only the most happening place in town."

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Ours kind of... burned down."

Xander's eyebrows shot up. "Burned down?"

"Yep. We were pretty broken up about it, but then we found this cool place in Calvin. It's a little bit of a drive, but worth it."

Reaching out to take Buffy's arm, Xander said, "Well, come on. You're about due for some Bronze time."

Buffy slid her arm into his grasp and followed him eagerly. "Sounds great."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sunnydale Memorial Hospital

"Are you Doyle?"

Doyle turned to see a nurse standing behind him. "Yes, ma'am. Is somethin' wrong?"

"The girl you brought in, she's asking for you."

It took Doyle seconds to replace the payphone receiver on its hook -- Aidan and the others had been very concerned, but it had also sounded like they were in the middle of something with the new Buffy -- and run back to Cordelia's cubical. When he burst through the curtains, he saw her sitting up in bed. Her skin had a little more of its natural bronzed color and her eyes were open.

"Yer awake," Doyle said, unnecessarily.

"You saved my life," Cordelia replied, simply.

Doyle shook his head. "No." He checked to make sure none of the hospital staff was nearby, and then added, "Ye beat the beast's head to a bloody pulp wit'out any help from me."

"But you brought me here," Cordelia replied. "And you sacrificed yourself so that I could get out of the alley."

"Aye," Doyle replied. "But, ye saved me, too, by killin' that thing."

"Come down here," Cordelia ordered.

Confused, Doyle did what she asked. Then, before he could move, Cordelia pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. Doyle froze for an instant, hardly able to believe what was happening. Then he kissed her back, gently, almost afraid she would break. When they broke apart, they were both breathing rapidly.

"Thank you, Doyle," Cordelia whispered.

"Thank ye, princess," Doyle replied.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Streets of Sunnydale

Angel was on the hunt. He wanted something he could hit. A lot.

He couldn't stand the way Buffy looked at him now. It was like the connection they'd always had was just... gone. Poof. He knew what had happened to her, but wasn't their love supposed to transcend things like dimensions? A few days ago, Angel had been concerned with how the power of their love and the fact that they could never act on that love was ruining Buffy's life. He'd even toyed with the idea of leaving Sunnydale for good, so Buffy move on and have a happy, semi- normal life. Now he wouldn't have to do that. But it hurt to be around her like this. He prefered the other pain -- the pain of being around her and not being able to touch her or act on his feelings, except through words.

The damn gypsies had planned their torment well, and Angel knew it. To be doomed to this life without any moments of pure happiness. Considering the hell that this world was, it seemed almost cruel and unusual torture. Of course, who was he to deny someone their torture?

Sadly for Angel, he found nothing untoward on the streets that night. Not even a rogue vampire. Either Buffy was doing very well, or it was a slow night.

Finally, Angel decided to go to the Bronze. If a vampire wanted a quick bite, that was one of the best places.

The doorman knew Angel, and always let him in without cover. All it had taken was saving the guy's life. It was a good thing. Money was not something Angel had a lot of.

The souled vampire entered the club and began to scan for any trouble. Then he began a perimeter search.

That was when he saw them out on the dance floor. Buffy and Xander. Xander of all people! It was like they were joined at the hip these days.

Silently, Angel settled in the wait until he could speak to Buffy alone.

Meanwhile, on the dance floor, Buffy was having the time of her life. The only times she felt normal in this dimension were when she was slaying vampires and when she was with Xander. Sometimes it was hard to remember that this Xander wasn't her Xander. He was so cute and funny. If he was a little more immature, well, her Xander had that streak, too, he just didn't have as many chances to show it.

Buffy shrieked with laughter when Xander pulled her into an impromptu dip. Then he pulled her back up and spun her around several times. When the song ended, they exited the floor, both gasping for air.

"Drink?" Xander asked, cheeks flushed.

"Water," Buffy replied. "Cold."

"Cold H2O coming right up." Xander left her by an empty table and headed toward the bar.

Buffy was about to sit down, when she felt a presence. She turned and saw Angel standing behind her. He had that intense look in his eyes again.

She'd never had the best of luck getting along with Angel. He'd proven himself a true ally, but until he and Faith started their relationship, she never felt at ease around him. Now, she really didn't feel at ease around him.

"Buffy."

"Yes?" She met his gaze evenly.

"Can we talk for a second?"

"I guess so," Buffy replied. "Xander is at the bar."

"I know."

"Would you like to sit down?" Bufy asked. She sat in one of the small chairs.

Angel pulled a chair right next to hers and sat down. "I know this is crazy, but I... I need to know about us."

"Us?" Buffy asked. "There is no us."

"That's what I don't understand," Angel replied. "I can't imagine a reality where I don't love you. I just need to know why..." He leaned closer, and, before Buffy realized what he was going to do, he kissed her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aidan's Study

Buffy sat cross legged in the middle of a circle. Aidan, Amy, and Rio were there in the background, but Jenny was the one preparing for the spell.

"Are you ready?" Jenny asked, tucking a strand of short, dark hair behind her ear.

Buffy pinned Jenny with a narrow gaze. In a soft voice, she said, "Ms. Calendar, these people all seem to trust you. I don't want to rock another boat while I'm here, but I just want to tell you something. *I* know why you're here and where you come from." Her voice dropped to a harsh whisper as Jenny's face paled. "If you try any of that gypsy crap on me... well, let's just say that when it got you killed in my world, the only person I felt bad for was your boyfriend."

Jenny swallowed, hard. "If you know why I'm here, you know that I'm not here to hurt anyone. I'm just here to watch."

"You might not want to hurt anyone, but that won't stop people from getting hurt when the truth comes out. You should think about that."

Jenny looked at Buffy for a long moment. "I can tell that you were hurt by whatever happened."

"Not just me," Buffy replied bitterly. "However, I don't want to talk about that any more. I just wanted you to know that I know. Now, let's just do this."

"All right." Jenny took a deep breath and tried to focus. After several moments and a few more calming breaths, she began the spell...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Outside the Bronze

Faith waited in a dark alley. She'd always wanted to try and get Angel into the sack, and now she had the Mayor's approval to do so. And she had a foolproof method to rid Angel of his soul, if his virtuous side proved too strong.

She'd followed him here easily enough. When he headed home, he would be a prime target. She licked her lips. This was going to be fun.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Astral Plane

Buffy closed her eyes after Jenny began the words of the spell. She waited for a feeling of lightness or bouyancy or... something, but nothing happened.

[I think you're doing it wrong] Buffy began to say, but she couldn't hear her own voice. She opened her eyes, and she found herself staring at the ceiling of Aidan's study. She looked down and saw her double's body lying in the middle of the circle. A bright, green cord ran between the body and her spirit, floating high above the ground, the anchor spell they had described to her. The cord gleamed so brightly, Buffy wondered that no one else seemed to see it.

Jenny, Aidan, Rio, and Amy stood near the circle, talking.

"Do you think it worked?" Amy asked.

"She has begun her out of body journey," Jenny replied. "Now it's up to her what happens."

"Do you think she can do it?" Rio asked. Buffy frowned at the boy she didn't know. Like he had the right to question her!

"If anyone can, I'm sure Buffy can," Aidan replied. "If nothing else, this Buffy has strength."

Buffy looked away from the group, satisfied that her little talk with Jenny had prompted the woman to do her best. After everything that had happened, Buffy just couldn't trust Jenny. True, at home she had given Giles permission to date her again, but that hadn't been for Jenny, it had been for Giles.

[Now what?] Buffy asked herself. The room was just a room. She didn't know how to open any dimensional portals or anything like that.

She allowed herself to sink down a little. Then she saw it, a gleam of silver. It ran from the body's heart up through the ceiling. Buffy looked down at her own chest. She could see it in a shadowy type of way. She could see the outline of her body, but she could see through it as well. But now she finally saw what she was looking for. A faint, silvery gleam exuding from her own heart. That cord, too, vanished through the ceiling.

Buffy raised her arms a la Superman and began to float higher. She passed through the ceiling, the second floor, the attic, and finally the roof. In the night sky, the two silver cords gleamed more brightly. They rose higher and higher into the atmosphere. Buffy followed them for a while, but she didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

[I wonder...] she thought. Slowly, she reached out both hands and grasped the cords. The sky around her flashed silver and suddenly she felt herself moving fast. Stars and clouds blurred around her until she couldn't see anything. She felt like she was riding Space Mountain, only without a cart or a safetly harness. If she had a heart right now, it would be in her throat. She just hung on to the cords for all she was worth, and hoped it was over soon.

Suddenly, there was another flash, but this one was blue. And red. And purple. Even though she was in spirit form, Buffy could suddenly smell honeysuckle.

And then all the motion stopped. Buffy looked at the cords in her shadowy grasp. The one belonging to her double was still faint. Like a string. But hers... it was much bigger. Now the green cord was thin and stringlike, but the silvery cord was thick and pulsed with energy.

Buffy floated along the cord until she saw a flash of blonde hair. She looked up. There she was! That was her body. And the tiny silver cord vanished inside of it.

She paused, floating next to herself. She looked at her body, talking and moving without her and felt a sharp pang of sadness. Then she saw who was sitting next to her.

[Angel!] Buffy tried to shout, but he didn't hear her. She moved closer to her love and kissed him. She felt a tiny jolt as her shadowy lips touched his.

Then he moved. She felt his body rushing toward hers. She floated out of the way and turned to see Angel kiss her. But it wasn't her! Didn't he know it wasn't her?

Buffy charged her body and felt it slide past her.

[Let me in!] she yelled. She could feel the astral cord tugging at her. It wanted to let her in, but it couldn't. The body was already filled. Buffy couldn't get in! And that girl, that stupid girl, didn't know that she only had to let go right now and they would switch back!

Suddenly, the green cord tightened and began the pull. The world around her flashed as she began travelling back the way she had come.

[Nooooooooooo!] Buffy screamed to the cosmos, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.